The Best $1,000 Projector

The BenQ HT2050 is the best $1,000 projector for anyone who wants a bright, colorful, detailed image—better than what’s possible with cheap projectors—but doesn’t want to spend more than twice as much for the next serious upgrade. I base this conclusion on over 50 hours of research and 110 hours of directly testing seven competing models (and considering six others) with the objective measurements of $20,000 worth of testing gear. The HT2050 has the best contrast ratios in its class and light output brighter than that of some projectors costing three times as much. What really sets the HT2050 apart, though, is its accurate color, which helps it produce a more realistic image than the rest of the field.

Last Updated:
One year ago

The BenQ HT2050 offers small improvements over our prior pick, the BenQ HT1075, while the price remains the same. If you can’t deal with DLP rainbows, the Epson 2040 is your best bet for an LCD projector.

Two years ago:
We just finished testing the latest sub-$1,000 projectors for smaller-budget home theaters. We think you’ll love looking at the picture produced by the BenQ HT2050 DLP 3D projector. The HT2050, like most home theater projectors today, supports 1080p high-definition images. During our testing, it produced the best contrast and most accurate colors of any projector in its price class and outperformed the previous BenQ HT1075 for the same price.

Two years ago: Epson just announced a fourth new projector in its Home Cinema line, in addition to the three announcer earlier this month.

Two years ago: Epson just announced three new projectors in its Home Cinema line. We now discuss them in the What to look forward to section.

Three years ago:
Updated to note that our pick has optional 3D glasses, but does not come with them.

Three years ago:
We considered 13 projectors and tested seven competing models for more than 50 hours (with $20,000 worth of gear) to find the best $1,000 projector. We found that the BenQ HT1075 has best-in-class color accuracy and superior contrast ratios with light output brighter than projectors that cost three times as much, adding up to the most realistic image for the price.

Three years ago:
We've tested the new HT1075 from BenQ, which is a bit improved over its predecessor and therefore our new pick. We’re working on a new guide; look for it in about a week.

Three years ago:
We tested several new projectors using $20,000 worth of equipment to find the BenQ W1070 is still the best projector for around $1000. It's brighter than projectors three times the price and has one of the best contrast ratios in its class.

Four years ago:
Linked to CNET’s review of the BenQ W1080ST, our recommendation for smaller rooms.

Four years ago:
Added the Optoma HD25 to the list of projectors we don’t recommend. Compared to our pick, the image is less accurate, and it lacks a really bright mode, has less-flexible positioning, has fewer calibration controls, and has slightly worse contrast.

Four years ago:
Updated the competition section with the Epson Home Cinema 2030. Though it matches the light output of our pick, its color accuracy isn’t as good, and the contrast ratio is lower. The BenQ is still the better buy.

The BenQ HT2050 has one of the best contrast ratios in its class, more realistic color than the competition, and is brighter than some projectors that cost three times as much. For the price, it’s truly the best in this range.

This is the new model upgraded from our previous pick, the HT1075, which is still available (check out our Previous pick section for more information). If you currently have the HT1075, or any recent similarly priced projector, upgrading to our new pick is probably not worthwhile. While the HT2050 is a little better in color accuracy, brightness, and contrast ratio, the performance is similar enough that we don’t recommend getting a new projector.

That said, if you have an older (five-plus years) LCD or DLP projector, the HT2050 likely produces more light, better colors, and a better contrast ratio to make a brighter, richer, punchier image. If that’s worth $800 to you (the HT2050’s current price), you’ll get it by upgrading. If you have an LCD projector, the BenQ likely looks sharper with motion (like sports and games) and probably has a better contrast ratio (for a punchier, less washed-out image).

The BenQ HT1075 was our previous pick, and while the HT2050 is slightly better, they are very close in quality.

If our main pick is sold out or becomes unavailable, we also like the BenQ HT1075. While the updated BenQ HT2050 looks a little better overall, the HT1075 was our prior pick and still performs exceptionally well.

If you’re limited on space and want or need the projector less than 9 feet from a 100-inch screen, the HT1085ST is basically the same as our runner-up but made to be placed roughly 40 percent closer to the screen.

If you have a smaller room (with the projector closer than 9 feet from a 100-inch or larger screen), or want to place the projector closer to the screen and still have a big image (say, less than 5 feet for a 100-inch image), check out the BenQ HT1075’s short-throw sibling model, the BenQ HT1085ST. The specs are basically the same, aside from the different lens. Check out the section on short-throws below or ProjectorCentral.com’s great Projection Calculator Pro to see how well the projector might fit in your room.

Rainbows aren’t a concern for most people, but if they are for you, the Epson 2040 is a decent LCD pick.

The BenQ uses DLP technology, which creates artifacts known as “rainbows.” Most people don’t notice or aren’t bothered by them, but some people do and are. The Epson 2040 is based on LCD technology, so it won’t create rainbows. However, the BenQ will be sharper and offers double the contrast ratio of the Epson for a better, punchier image.

Why you should trust me

Who am I to make these judgments? I’ve reviewed TVs, displays, and projectors for publications including Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, AnandTech, and HD Guru. I’m ISF Level II certified, and I own highly specialized objective testing gear to put projectors through their paces.

Who this guide is for

Projectors can range in price from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. Here’s the tricky part: You won’t find a linear increase in picture quality as you go up in price. More often, gems pop up at specific price points. In my experience reviewing projectors of all prices, going up in price generally gets you a better contrast ratio (and therefore a better-looking image). But going up in price does not always guarantee more light output (our BenQ pick, for example, is brighter than several $3,000 projectors), nor does it guarantee more features (3D and the like).

If $1,000—okay, $800—is more than you want to spend, check out our pick for best $500 projector. The light output is roughly the same, as is the contrast ratio, but the colors aren’t quite as good. The biggest difference is that our current $500 projector pick is 720p, about half the resolution of the HT2050 (1080p). This means the image isn’t as detailed, and on larger screens you’re more likely to see individual pixels.

If you’re interested in spending more and going all the way, we have a separate piece with our awesome projector pick.

What makes a good projector

The two most important attributes of a projector are contrast ratio and brightness. Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest part of the image and the darkest. A high contrast ratio would mean dark blacks and bright whites. A low contrast ratio would mean the image is more washed out, usually with more gray-looking blacks.

If contrast ratio is how good the image looks, the brightness is how large an image you can create and how bright it is.

Brightness, or light output, is almost equally important in a projector as contrast ratio. The light output determines not only how bright the image is (obviously) but also how large an image you can create (image brightness decreases with image size), and thus in many ways what type of screen you can use.

So if contrast ratio is how good the image looks, the brightness is how large an image you can create and how bright it is. These two factors are followed in importance by color accuracy, and, more distantly, resolution and color temperature. Most $1,000-range projectors are 1080p, so resolution isn’t a big concern. No projector in this price range has a great contrast ratio, but some are certainly better than others.

After contrast ratio and brightness, color is the next most important consideration. Accurate color means everything you see will seem more realistic and natural. The HT1075 is one of the few projectors in this price range that has even remotely accurate color. Better higher-end projectors, like our awesome projector pick, also have accurate colors.

Resolution is the last of the big picture-quality items, and far more important in a projector than a TV. Ideally you want a full 1080p projector, as with that kind you can create a big, detailed image with no chance for visible pixels. The results from 720p projectors look a little softer, and when such models are creating a big image (or when you’re sitting close), the pixels are visible; in the extreme, there can be a sort of looking-through-a-screen-door effect.

Lastly, all projectors need a screen of some sort. Just shining them on a wall isn’t ideal and won’t help the projector look its best. Screens don’t have to be expensive. For more info on that, check out “The Best Projector Screen (for most people).”

How we picked

Left to right: BenQ HT2050, BenQ HT4050, Epson 2040, BenQ HT3050.

For our original article, we compiled a list of all the projectors in the $1,000 price range that had positive reviews. It was a surprisingly short list, as there aren’t a lot of websites that review projectors with the in-depth, objective measurements we’re looking for. We also eliminated business projectors, since their colors and processing aren’t typically as good for movies and TV as a home-theater projector. Unlike some of the categories we cover here at The Wirecutter, this one is pretty small; there’s only a handful of companies and models.

There were a few cases where a manufacturer had more than one model that seemed to fit our criteria. We asked them which model they thought best fit our requirements and the competition we were including.

Our October 2014 update was a bit easier. BenQ replaced our main pick, so we got the new model in and tested it against the previous pick. Thankfully, it was a bit better in every way for the same price our original pick, the W1070, was initially.

For January 2016 we called in all the new models from BenQ, including the HT2050, and the Epson 2040. We also tested some other models over the past year, but they all came up short of our previous pick, so we didn’t review them again.

Our pick

The BenQ HT2050 has one of the best contrast ratios in its class, more realistic color than the competition, and is brighter than some projectors that cost three times as much. For the price, it’s truly the best in this range.

The BenQ HT2050 offers accurate colors, meaning its image is more realistic and lifelike than that of other models at the same price. It’s also bright, has a decent contrast ratio, and has great detail with motion. Overall, the image is better than most projectors from five or more years ago and as good as (if not better than) that of many at several times its price.

BenQ HT2050

Looking at the spec sheet, you’d be hard-pressed to see any differences between our previous pick (the HT1075) and our new pick, the HT2050. But since the HT1075 was so good, BenQ didn’t need to mess with much. The major feature differences are a claimed boost in contrast ratio, a 2dB reduction in noise, and an updated case. The HT2050 does lose the MHL port that the HT1075 offers, but that isn’t a big deal for most people.

Actual performance is a little better across the board. Measuring the light output with a lux meter, I found it produced 1,130 lumens when calibrated and in eco bulb mode, and 1,665 lumens calibrated in normal bulb mode. Switching to vivid mode gave me a less accurate image but a massive 2,200-plus lumens.

To put that another way, a movie theater screen should be around 15 foot-lamberts in brightness, and the HT2050’s 1,665 lumens is enough for 24 foot-lamberts on a 150-inch version of our favorite projector screen. Basically, the image will be plenty bright, even if you get a giant screen. Our pick for best $500 TV, by comparison, puts out almost 90 foot-lamberts on its screen, but TVs will always be brighter than projectors. Also, that TV is only 43 inches diagonal.

This is slightly less than what we measured from the HT1075, but still more than powerful enough to drive almost any size screen you might want to use. Keep in mind that most projectors didn’t come close to this light output a few years ago.

The contrast ratio improved a bit: 1,574:1 from the HT1075’s 1,501:1, though this is well within the margin of error for this kind of measurement. Without calibration (i.e., how the projector looks out of the box), the HT2050 measures even better at 1,719:1. However, the brightest whites have a slight blue tint to them.

The BenQ HT2050 has plenty of inputs for most situations.

Color, too, is slightly improved. Every color is a little more accurate than on the HT1075, which already looked far more realistic than every other projector in this price range. The performance of $1,000-range projectors in most aspects is so similar you’d think they were all made in the same factory. So the HT2050’s and HT1075’s color accuracy is a huge deal since it’s that much better than the norm. For example, most projectors in this range have colors that are not as realistic (green especially). Grass, for example, looks more realistic on the HT2050 than on most other projectors in this price range.

We also appreciated the built-in vertical lens shift, meager as it is, which gives you some wiggle room in terms of where you can place the projector while still maintaining an undistorted image. You can only shift the lens by a little bit, but that’s better than nothing, which is what you get with most projectors in this price range. Small as it is, it’s way better than using digital keystone correction, which robs you of actual screen space by reducing the number of active pixels contributing to the image (it also adds artifacts like jagged edges and potentially other visual noise).

Lens shift, zoom, and focus adjustments on the BenQ HT2050.

Like nearly all modern projectors, the HT2050 uses a UHP lamp to create the light you see on screen. These gradually dim and need to be replaced. BenQ estimates lamp life between 3,500 and 6,000 hours, depending on the mode. The current replacement cost is around $200. These numbers are all in line with other projectors. If you watch the HT2050 for five hours a night in the SmartEco mode, the lamp will last you over three years.

So, basically, BenQ kept what was good with the HT1075, changed the look, tweaked the performance slightly, and dropped the list price by $200. Unless you really need the MHL port that was cut, I think saving $200 while keeping or improving the performance is a nice change.

Who also likes our pick

We talked to Evan Powell, editor of ProjectorCentral.com, for his thoughts on the $1,000-range models out there. He also agreed that the BenQ and Epson models are the best choices out there, with no one else offering anything that really comes out ahead. He preferred the BenQ HT2050 over the HT3050 as he felt the slightly more accurate colors of the latter were not worth the $200 premium.

If you are sensitive to rainbows, or really want to watch 3D, he also suggested the Epson 2040 LCD model that we like. He felt the Epson looked a bit more natural than the BenQ, though I tend to think that’s because the BenQ is so much sharper/more detailed because it’s a DLP and not an LCD.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

As far as 3D goes, the HT2050 is a bit of a mixed bag. The image is bright, and there’s not a lot of crosstalk (a partial “ghost” image next to the real image, a common 3D issue). But it still has the issue of the past BenQ projectors where the image has a red tint to it. The 3D glasses take out most of this, but not all of it. Overall, it also isn’t nearly as bright in 3D mode as the Epson 2040 is in its 3D mode.

Like any small projector, the HT2050 is not quiet. It has small fans to keep the lamp cool. It’s maybe a bit louder than a refrigerator or a desktop computer, but much quieter than an air conditioner. It’s not as loud as some projectors, and quieter than the HT1075, but it’s definitely not as quiet as our awesome projector pick. Depending on where you put the projector, you’ll notice the sound of the fans during certain movie or TV scenes, such as those with intimate dialogue.

If you’re limited on space and want or need the projector less than 9 feet from a 100-inch screen, the HT1085ST is basically the same as our runner-up but made to be placed roughly 40 percent closer to the screen.

For smaller rooms (if you want or need the projector closer than roughly 9 feet while still making a 100-inch image), the HT1085ST is the better pick. It can create a larger image when placed closer to the screen than the HT2050.

To create a 100-inch image, the HT2050 needs to be a minimum of 8.6 feet from the screen (give or take a bit). The HT1085ST can do an equivalent image from 5 feet (per ProjectorCentral.com’s great Projection Calculator Pro).

The BenQ HT1075 was our previous pick, and while the HT2050 is slightly better, they are very close in quality.

The BenQ HT1075 was our prior pick and is what you should get if the HT2050 isn’t available. The models are close enough in performance—aside from input lag—that you won’t usually notice the difference unless they are side by side. The HT2050 has a little bit better contrast, its color is slightly more accurate, its input lag is lower (33 milliseconds vs. 49.7 milliseconds), and there’s a little less noise. But performance is close enough that we don’t recommend anyone upgrade from one to the other.

At the moment, you can still pick up the W1075 for just under $800. The HT2050 is currently only $800 list, so these are practically the same price. Unless you really need the MHL port on the HT1075, there isn’t much reason to pick it over the HT2050. However, if you’re a non-gamer and the HT1075 goes on sale for at least $100 less than the HT2050, the differences in performance are negligible enough to consider buying the HT1075. (If you’re a gamer, you will probably still want the HT2050 for its lower input lag.)

Rainbows aren’t a concern for most people, but if they are for you, the Epson 2040 is a decent LCD pick.

The Epson 2040 offers similar picture quality to our pick, but costs a bit more. Because it’s an LCD projector, it doesn’t suffer from rainbows. Newer DLP projectors are less prone to rainbows than before because their color wheels spin faster, but if you’re still bothered by them the Epson is a good alternative.

The Epson can’t produce blacks that are as dark as those of the BenQ, so its contrast ratio is lower, but the overall image quality is close otherwise. It is very bright, almost as bright as the HT2050, and has a 27.8-millisecond input lag. This makes it a good choice for playing games as well as for watching TV and movies. An integrated speaker lets it work without a sound system for movie nights, but it doesn’t sound great.

Since it uses three LCD panels instead of a single DLP panel, it isn’t as sharp as the BenQ models. There is a dynamic iris to help improve black levels and contrast ratios, but it is noisy and is easy to see working, so we don’t recommend using it.

If you are bothered by DLP rainbows, the Epson 2040 makes a good substitute for the BenQ. Otherwise we’d recommend the BenQ for most people due to its superior picture quality.

What rainbows are

There’s no such thing as a perfect display or display technology. DLP’s Achilles’ heel is an artifact called rainbows. Bright objects on a dark background (such as streetlights zooming by during a night scene) will trail a multicolored rainbow. Not everyone notices these rainbows. Not everyone who does notice them is bothered by them (I’m in this category). But some people notice them, and it drives them crazy. This latter group is a small minority, but they’re a very vocal minority. Most people aren’t bothered by rainbows, especially on projectors like the BenQ that have a 6x color wheel (older DLP projectors had slower color wheels).

ProjectorCentral.com mentions this in its review of our previous pick: “6X Speed Color Wheel: The W1070 has a six-segment color wheel in the theater-optimized RGBRGB configuration. This wheel layout maximizes color without artificially boosting white, and is preferred for its ability to render natural color. What’s more, the wheel gives an effective refresh rate of six times per frame. This should eliminate color separation artifacts (rainbows) for all but the most hypersensitive of viewers.”

Lasers/LEDs

Most projectors use replaceable lamps to create the light you see. Over time, these dim and need to be replaced. How long they last depends mostly on usage, and any estimates provided by companies are a guideline at best. There are some LED and laser/LED hybrid projectors on the market (with more coming). However, right now their performance isn’t up to the standards set by the BenQ unless you are spending $6,000 for a model like the Epson LS9600e.

It’s worth noting that BenQ’s estimate for the HT2050’s lamp ranges from 3,500 to 6,000 hours, depending on what mode you use (brighter modes lead to shorter lives). This compares well with Epson’s on the 2040 (4,000 to 7,500 hours).

Why not to get a business projector

Business projectors are designed for different criteria than home-theater projectors. The biggest difference is color: Most business projectors have colors most conducive for brightness, not the colors to produce the best image for movies. So the image may not be realistic, with cartoony greens, washed-out reds, and cyan-looking blues. Color temperature, or the “color” of white, is another issue. Most business projectors are very blue/greenish in color, which is best for light output. Home-theater projectors are warmer, producing more natural-looking images. Check out CNET’s “What is TV color temperature, and why does it matter?” for more info.

If you’re just looking for something to create a bright picture without concern for picture quality, any projector will do.

It’s also important to keep in mind that if you want a realistic-looking image, and the business projector 1) has a setting for it, and 2) lets you adjust the picture settings, this is usually going to reduce the light output considerably. So a 3,500-lumen business projector might be “just” 2,000 lumens putting out a decent image.

Lastly, not all business projectors have HDMI (though many do). Without HDMI (and the HDCP copy-protection protocol), you won’t be able to get an HD image into it other than from a computer.

How much all this matters is up to you. If you’re just looking for something to create a bright picture without concern for picture quality, any projector will do. But to create a decent image for movies or TV, it’s best to start with a home-theater projector.

The competition

We reviewed several new models recently, and then a bunch more for the previous update. All of those are listed here. The tl;dr version? While the light output and contrast ratio of $1,000 DLP models are very similar, the BenQ’s more accurate color makes it much better looking.

The BenQ HT3050 is identical to the HT2050 except it comes with a pre-calibrated Rec.709 mode. This mode offers more accurate color than the default modes on the HT2050 but for $200 more. Since a projector isn’t calibrated in a vacuum, your screen will impact everything that you display on it. So this pre-calibration might not be as accurate as it seems on paper, nor as accurate as a pre-calibrated TV could be.

So if you’re really interested in the most accurate color possible, you’re probably better off with the HT2050 and then paying for a professional calibration afterward (which would cost somewhere around $200 to $300). The HT3050 also offers an MHL input, and an optional internal wireless HDMI kit, but input lag rises from 33 ms to 49.7 ms.

The Optoma HD37 offers similar performance to the BenQ HT1075 but typically sells for around a couple hundred dollars more. Before, the HD37 was a good alternative pick, but the HT3050 offers better color performance, better contrast ratios, and the optional wireless HDMI for the same price.

The Optoma HD141X was one of the first 1080p projectors to hit the $600 range. I found its contrast ratio to be extremely lackluster, around 650:1. This model’s image will look much more washed out than that of our $1,000 pick. Light output is lower, too, at around 30 foot-lamberts.

The Optoma HD26 has dropped in price. Its only difference from the HD141X appears to be 7 percent more light output and a 25 percent claimed increase in contrast ratio. The brightness is not an issue, and increasing the contrast 25 percent isn’t enough to make it competitive.

InFocus’s IN8606HD and IN3138HD are basically identical from the outside, but the IN3138 is rated for more light output. However, in our testing, there’s a weird video processing bug that eliminated these from testing. There’s a smearing with motion, most notably with 1080i content, that makes them look significantly worse than the BenQ and Optoma HD25-LV.

A triplet to the InFocus twins, the Vivitek H1180HD has a white case to the InFocus’s black. However, the same video processing bug is here as well. Not recommended.

The projectors below were dismissed in the original article as not being able to compete against the W1070, so by extension they’re also not as good as the HT2050.

The Optoma HD20 was an excellent projector when it came out, but the newer HT1075 has since surpassed it in picture quality. ProjectorReviews.com says of the Optoma HD20, “Black level performance is very entry level.” The site goes on to say, “The HD20 has come down from $999 to typically selling for $700 to $800, which is great, but we look forward to its replacement.” The Optoma is also not as bright as the W1070; it’s rated for 1,700 lumens to the BenQ’s 2,000.

Another contender was the Optoma HD25. It is very similar, with a single DLP chip, and reviews found that it’s a little better with 3D due to RF-glasses support, and it has slightly less lag for video games. Compared to the BenQ W1070, it gives a less accurate image, lacks the really bright mode the BenQ has, is less flexible with positioning, has fewer controls for calibration, and has slightly worse contrast. For most people, the benefits on the BenQ are more important than what the Optoma HD25 offers, and the BenQ usually sells for less.

The more expensive HD33, also several years old, was an excellent choice when it was new. It too has been usurped by the cheaper W1070. ProjectorReviews.com says, “A number of additional 3D capable models started shipping since, which tended to make the HD33 not stand out.” It also says, “The brighter Epsons and some others made it hard to stay focused on the some of the Optoma HD33’s strengths.” The HD33 also has no lens shift and is rated for 1,800 lumens.

The Epson PowerLite 8350 had been a popular choice since its release in 2010. Lifehacker readers had voted it the “Most Popular Home Theater Projector,” but it’s just not good anymore. While a great value for the performance several years ago, it doesn’t hold up to our current pick. The contrast ratio is slightly worse, and it can’t hold a candle (pun intended) to the extreme light output of the BenQ. In short, it’s not as bright, it’s more expensive, and it doesn’t look as good as the W1070.

The Epson 750HD has its own niche, being one of the brightest projectors available (at any price). It is a lot brighter than the W1070 (upwards of 50 percent brighter in my measurements), and the W1070 is already very bright. However, the contrast ratio is much lower and at upwards of 200 inches (where that brightness will make a difference) the W1070 more or less catches up. From Geoffrey Morrison’s review at Sound & Vision: “The black level, however, was also quite high. Calling it “black” is a bit of a misnomer, as 0.133 is definitely more a light gray. As a result, the native contrast ratio, 573:1, is really poor. This is one of the lowest I’ve measured in years. The image looks quite washed out, lacking the pseudo-depth found on higher contrast ratio displays.”

It’s also 1280×800 pixels, not the full 1080p of the W1070. In reality, the BenQ will create a decently bright image on screens up to 200 inches diagonal (16 by 9 feet) without taking into account screen gain (which would allow you to go even larger). The Epson would offer roughly the same level of brightness on 250-inch screens that the BenQ does on a 200-inch, but the image itself would not be as good (at any size) as what is possible with the BenQ.

In Geoffrey Morrison’s review of the Epson Home Cinema 2030 for Sound & Vision magazine, he finds that it doesn’t offer the performance of the BenQ. The Epson offers roughly the same light output, but color accuracy isn’t as good (they don’t look quite as realistic). More importantly, the contrast ratio is significantly lower, not much higher than 15 percent of the BenQ’s. As such, the image looks washed out, with shadows and black clothing looking grayish instead of black. Also, the input lag is significantly higher than the BenQ’s, meaning it’s not as good for gamers. An input-lag-reducing processing mode is present but reduces resolution, making the image look softer. So if you’re bothered by DLP rainbows, the 3020, though more expensive, is a better option than the 2030. The 3020 has gotten better reviews, despite being more expensive. So for most people, we still recommend the better-performing BenQ W1070.

Many of the manufacturers have released refreshes of their projectors since we last tested them, so you may find one of the listed competitors out of stock and Amazon suggesting a “newer model.” But you can expect that the changes in those models will be similar to the small differences between our current pick, the BenQ HT2050, and our previous pick, the BenQ HT1075, so they are unlikely to unseat the BenQ models as picks. Even so, we’ll reconsider the newest model of each projector for our next round of testing.

Wrapping it up

Like its predecessor, the HT2050 is one of the few projectors in its price range that has accurate colors. It also has a bright, punchy image with low noise and low input lag. Unless you’re one of the small minority of people who notice and can’t stand rainbows, the HT2050 is the $1,000-range projector we’d pick.

Sources

“The BenQ W1070 offers very good picture quality for the price, including respectable black levels and excellent color accuracy. 3D playback is excellent.” “If you want a huge, good-looking image for a little money, few come close to the BenQ W1070 projector.”

“I’m supposed to be really critical and demanding as a reviewer, but after watching the BenQ for a few weeks, most people I know would be very happy to have it in their homes. Almost my entire family was over at my house for a party, and in small groups they kept making their way to the home theater as I’d installed new seating they wanted to check out. With a film playing on the W1070 as they came in, everyone left impressed with the image, and not a single one said, “That’s nice, but…” They just left impressed. The BenQ W1070 is bright, has a great image, and is cheap. If you want an incredibly affordable way to get a huge, good-looking image in your home, the BenQ W1070 is a fantastic way to do so, and one that I highly recommend checking out.”

“The BenQ W1070 is a great little home video projector that produces a 2D image that looks more expensive than it is. High light output and great shadow detail help the W1070 stand up to ambient light, while extensive color controls and solid factory calibrations make it easy to just plug and play.” “But what the W1070 does, it does very well — namely, it provides a great living room experience for high-definition 2D content, and with the lights off it can give you a solid 3D picture with almost zero crosstalk. Most importantly, it does all this at a price that’s highly competitive in today’s market.”

“Overall, the W1070 proved to be a pretty darn good, slightly better than average single-chip DLP projector.” “While not perfect, BenQ’s W1070 single-chip 3D HD DLP projector is a great starting point for those considering getting into the front-projection game. Its sub-$1,000 retail price makes it obtainable for many, and its supreme brightness and above-average performance make it a candidate for rooms where there may be some ambient light concerns (think media rooms). The fact that it’s so small, eco-friendly and sold just about everywhere only sweetens the deal.”

“Turns out that the BenQ W1070 is, in fact, that rare breed: It offers really good performance while being one of the least expensive 1080p-rez 3D projectors you can buy. I wish it had a better contrast ratio and zoom range, but then again, I’m willing to forgive a lot for something that costs barely more than a cheap 50-inch plasma. It’s also a lot better (and makes a bigger image) than the affordable, ultra-large LCDs flooding the market. I hesitate to assign a subjective numeric judgment, but here it is anyway: I’d say the W1070 offers 70% of the performance of projectors in the $3,000-4,000 price range for less than a third of their cost. While it’s not perfect, it’s bright, fairly accurate, and, for the price, quite excellent.”

“In many of the tests, including black levels, the BenQ and the Epson 3020 were neck-and-neck, with the BenQ losing to the Epson slightly on shadow detail and reproducing more-natural colors, especially in darker areas.”

Chris Heinonen writes about home audio and video for The Wirecutter. He also writes reviews and runs Reference Home Theater. Previously he has contributed to Secrets of Home Theater, Electronic House, AnandTech, and HDGuru. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and spends his free time chasing after his sons and running.

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